I vaguely remember watching the 1991 Finals with Magic vs Jordan when I was a young kid but it was a blur, so I really never got to watch Magic Johnson.
Van Exel / Eddie Jones era was when I really started understanding basketball. I never really had a favorite player. I might have rooted for Anthony Peeler because I felt bad he wasn't playing.
But the first game I remember falling in love for the first time with a player was at the end of a Sixers game in Kobe's rookie season, he did a crossover move into a tomahawk dunk, that's when I realized this was going to be my favorite player.
Dunk is #3 on that clip.
Kobe's been my favorite player ever since. _________________ Endgame Hail Hydra
I grew up as a kid in the 1980s with Magic. Made me love the game of basketball.
1990s? Sort of dark...
Then came Shaq and Kobe in 1996. That took me through high school/college, my formative years. Shaq was brute strength and dominance but Kobe was the elegance of utter perseverance and devotion to his craft.
Then the 2000s had two bookends, the Shaq/Kobe run, and then later the Kobe/Pau/LO rings. The Kobe in the mid-2000s was the most raw, GTFO energy version of Kobe where he was so nuclear he would decimate teams, and even teammates.
Then came Kobe the leader who showed poise and an ability to draw out the best in guys like Pau and LO. That he took down the Celts is so much more memorable.
The latter day Kobe was tough to see. I'll be honest. Really didn't like the extension. But I did absolutely appreciate the fight he showed in coming back from an injury that ended careers. That is why in my heart of hearts, I kept hoping that Kobe, much like he did with the Achilles tear, would find a way to make it out alive of that accident.
But at the end of the day. I think my lasting impression of Kobe will be his devotion to Gigi. The brilliance he showed in his brief 4 years post retirement. He was more than just a basketball player. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22870 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 1:07 pm Post subject:
Magic, so for some of us, this is the 2nd jolt in 30 years. You basically thought Magic was going to die in 1991. You cannot fathom this, that something even worse than the Magic Johnson thing would happen... again to the same franchise.
West and later Wilt. Of course, Magic was the GOAT and rekindled my enthusiasm for the league. Kobe, Shaq, and all the rest that came later kept it going.
Magic! _________________ Starting Lakers Dynasty6.0! NOW!!
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....." each year in Lakerland is marked by four seasons: Kobe’s Mad at His Teammates; Kobe’s Shooting Too Much; Kobe Leads the Victory Parade; Kobe Receives His Championship Ring."
I moved to California in 1986, at the age of 7. My brother and I instantly became Lakers fans and were infatuated with the way Magic played.
Didn't really have a favorite player until NVE and Eddie Jones came along and that held me over for a few seasons.
Kobe was drafted between my Junior and Senior year of high school and he quickly surpassed NVE and EJ as my favorite and that's been the case ever since and will most likely always be.
A fire that could consume his foes on the court, but if not handled properly, could even consume his own teammates.
That's what made him so special. He was not destined to be kept under a bushel. And when Phil Jax joined the team, he finally got someone who could help him channel that fire into forming an unstoppable team with Shaq, and later with Pau. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
A fire that could consume his foes on the court, but if not handled properly, could even consume his own teammates.
That's what made him so special. He was not destined to be kept under a bushel. And when Phil Jax joined the team, he finally got someone who could help him channel that fire into forming an unstoppable team with Shaq, and later with Pau.
Spot on. _________________ Mamba Made Moments Meticulously Magnificent
Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 10015 Location: Los Angeles/ Alhambra, CA
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:53 pm Post subject:
Coop. When my brother and all his friends played ball before school or on weekends, I was always the shorter and scrawnier kid trying to get on the court with them. But if I could hit a 3 from top of the key and be an annoying pest on D, at least I could affect the game.
So whatever limited, paltry, fleeting game I might have had as a kid, I based it on Coop. Coop had infinitely more athleticism, skill, and height than me - but he played like a gosh-darn pest on D, and ticked people off with his 3s.
To this day, any all-time great Laker team I come up with in my head has him on it. An automatic reserve for sure. But if someone asked me to come up with a position-less roster of 5 Lakers I could throw out there, just to mess people up? That's easy.
Center? Shaq.
Power forward? Magic. Yeah, I said it. Point-power forward.
Small forward? LeBron* (Pending him getting a ring with us. If not, then give me Worthy in there until LBJ gets us the LA ring.)
Shooting guard? Kobe. 'Cause duh.
"Point" guard? Coop. Because I would have paid cash money to see a back-court of Kobe and Coop in their prime locking down the perimeter with razor-wire, electrified fencing, duct-tape and steel chains defense.
Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 11197 Location: The Other Perspective
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:41 pm Post subject:
It started with Magic and Kareem. They were like the Captain Kirk and Spock of basketball, and that's a big compliment from a nerdy Trekker like me lol. And then came Kobe. Ultimate competitor. An absolute artist on the court. Most skilled player ever. _________________ "Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him
For me it was Jerry West. I loved that he was nearly as good on defense as he was on offense. He was respected around the league in a way similar to Magic. Kareem, Kobe. It’s hard to believe now but I recall reading that some coaches around the league at the time, complained privately about the Lakers’ penchant for allowing West to iso. Back then, Jerry had a killer first step and his jumper was hair trigger. Coaches legit thought it was “unfair.”
Add this to having watched the Lakers lose to the Celtics 3 straight times and West just embodied the franchise’s frustration. For me, Baylor was more fun to watch, but West’s defense and toughness turned me into a purple and gold stan.
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 3242 Location: Mid-Wilshire: just beyond "The Puff Puff Pass"
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:29 pm Post subject:
I was born and raised in St.Louis, in 1979 that spring we got all of Indiana State's , and their phenom ,Larry Bird's,games.... before they played each other....I remember coach Al Maguire saying folks, there's this kid
from Michigan State, you're gonna love... Magic Johnson...he was right...when Magic came to LA...my heart came to LA...in '89 I moved to LA....when Kobe came in 96...he was a footnote.. because we got Shaq!!...I still remember one of the first times Kobe got in a preseason game...fro.. blowing in the wind...him just a dribbling up the court wildly....who knew....Kobe made us stay...
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